Oblivion: Hell Hath Other Fury
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." As far as Jack was concerned, William Congreve was a master of understatement. Because in the span of an hour, he'd scorned a woman who now wanted him dead, scorned another who'd been killed before his eyes, and had alienated the only woman on Earth that might still feel something for him.


**Hell Hath Other Fury**

"Jack? Are you alright?"

Julia didn't know whether that was a stupid question or not. All things considered, Jack…_this _Jack…couldn't possibly alright. Not if he really was the man she knew…still knew…and not just a clone.

_And was the other Jack? Did he feel anything when my…other, Jack, strangled him?_

She didn't know. All she knew was that in what felt like days to her, she'd been in suspension onboard the _Odyssey_. All she knew was that in what was actually sixty years, aliens had invaded Earth, which may or may not have been aliens, oppressed by humans which may or may not have been humans, and that as far as she knew, she was the only human on this world who had actually lived in a time where humans were humans, not clones, and aliens were squarely in the realm of science fiction.

"Jack?"

But she kept walking. Into the cabin. Because after all that had happened, after all that she'd seen, this cabin, a promise from a former life, existed. That was enough to convince her that Jack…_this _Jack…was the man she loved, and not a drone. Not a killing machine.

And that he was reading a book. Out aloud, as the case was.

"As you'll answer it, take heed. This slave commit no violence upon himself. I've been deceived."

He looked up from the book. He looked at her…just like the real Jack Harper did. Would. Might have. Still was.

"_The Mourning Bride _by William Congreve," Jack said. "Nice stuff."

Julia smiled sadly back. A mourning bride. It was how she felt herself.

_Am I a widow, technically?_

She clutched her ring and walked around the room. Objects had been superficial in the old Earth. People had too much, always wanted more, but now, every little thing caught her eye. A book. A record. Even the toy gorilla. Everything a monument to a previous age. A piece of culture. A piece of humanity.

"To commit violence upon oneself," Jack mused. "Guess I'm guilty of that."

"Jack…"

Julia trailed off. She didn't want to think about that. Jack Harper was one man. This man, biologically at least, was another.

_And the other?_

"Confer with him, I'll quit you to the king," Jack continued. "Vile and ingrate, too late thou shalt repent." He looked up at her. A tear ran down his cheek before he lay back on the bed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry for everything."

"Jack…"

Julia sat down on the bed beside him. She took his hand in hers, rubbing her fingers over his rough skin. A life in the field, she supposed. In contrast, she was clean, in suspension while the planet burnt below. So clean that she felt dirty.

"Go on," she said. "Read more."

Jack snorted. "What good are words now?"

"Maybe all we have," Julia whispered. "And the one thing that books can give her."

Jack got up. The book was opened. He began reading again.

"The base injustice thou hast done my love. Yes, thou shalt know, spite of thy past distress. And all those ills which thou so long hast mourned."

He sighed. He glanced at Julia.

"I dreamed of you for five years," he said. "Every night, I'd see your face."

She smiled.

"Only I was dreaming all the time," he murmured. "Five years. Five years of work after a memory wipe." He snorted. "Probably had no memory to wipe in the first place."

"Jack," Julia said, grabbing his hands. "You remembered. You dreamt. You had something to be wiped. And they didn't get it."

"And did Vicka?"

Julia let go of his hand. Jack opened the book again and read the last lines. "Heaven has no rage, like love to hatred turned. Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned."

He turned to Julia. He put the book down.

"I pissed off two women today," Jack whispered. "Sally's out for my blood. And Vick…"

"Jack, it wasn't your fault," Julia said firmly. "She called the drone in."

"It killed her because of me," Jack spat. "When it blasted her…five years…she must have loathed me in those last few seconds…"

"You don't know that Jack. You can't read someone's mind."

He snorted. "Minds. I'm in no position to talk about minds. All my mind is worth is five years of crap and a few days of…well…"

"A few days, yes," Julia said. "And days gone by as well. Days that are as real to me now as they were when we met."

Silence existed between the two. Complete silence. Were there no crickets left around in the world? Or did they want the moment to be perfect, Julia wondered? Enough to kiss the man she loved?

"Question is," she said, "Are those days real to you?"

With Jack kissing her back, she got her answer.


End file.
